


A Sweet Treat

by MelodyoftheVoid



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Boys In Love, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Road Trips, S'mores, Star Gazing, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, it's just cute y'all, zim uses they/them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:40:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28130016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodyoftheVoid/pseuds/MelodyoftheVoid
Summary: Why Dib loves Earth so much remains a mystery to Zim.
Relationships: Dib & Zim (Invader Zim), Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Comments: 26
Kudos: 60





	A Sweet Treat

For as much as Earth could be a filth-ridden cesspool full of the most revolting backwards people, Dib really loved the place much to Zim’s eternal bafflement.

It was one of the many things about his human that they continued to question, even after learning so much about their former rival, now partner. Whenever Zim went on a tirade after some Karen made a scene at the grocery store, or they faced the horrors that were the seasons on this death planet, Dib would dutifully agree, but would get a wistful look on his face, saying that “it had its charms”. 

So naturally, as the planet’s future ruler (through more semi-legal measures), Zim demanded that Dib show them what was so great about Earth. And thus began their whirlwind, half-baked road trip across the country. Initially they’d wanted a trip around the _whole_ planet, but Dib only had so much time off from college, so they settled on only crossing the major landmarks in driving range. 

Not that Zim wanted to visit Alaska. 

Fuck that. 

Their latest stop was the Grand Canyon, which was… admirable by canyon standards. They only reminded Dib that even Mars had a bigger one twice. Maybe three times. Positively angelic behavior on their part. 

Still, it was a sight to behold, the plunging cliff sides, the variations of rock eroded away by the river over millions of years. The humans standing far too close to a mile drop straight down. Magnificent. 

Zim was particularly impressed with the massive size of the condors that rode the gusts of wind rising from the depths. Such strength and size was impressive. If they were still scheming they probably would’ve tried to use them to attack the leaders of different countries. They were all shambling corpses anyway so the condors would take them. Probably. 

Regardless, the duo had spent the day trekking the many trails, taking small breaks and bickering lightly. Eventually, they made it all the way down to the bottom, setting up camp at a small site far enough away from the Colorado river that Zim felt secure. 

With minimal swearing and only one complete collapse, the tent was propped up, so Zim brought out their supplies as the human started a small fire, smiling as the heat warmed the frigid desert air. Zim settled in, holding his blanket tight around him, Dib pulled out a small bag of white treats, as well as some crackers and a bar of chocolate. Delightful! Snacks! 

Zim went to grab at them but was denied their treat, Dib using his infuriatingly long limbs to hold the treasures out of reach.

  
  
“Zim hold your horses, let me sharpen this stick.”

“Zim will hold no horses, GIMME!”

  
  
“Zim, if I give you this bag, you’re just going to eat it all. I want to eat a s’more too.”

“Eh? What is this… more?”

Dib blinked at Zim perplexed, his eyes shining with amusement in the flickering light of the campfire.

  
  
“You’ve really never had a s’more? Ever? Oh man, you’re going to love this!”

  
  
Suspicion raising, Zim scooched away from their partner. They didn’t trust when Dib used that phrase. Last time he said that they ended up hurling into a trashcan after going on the most extreme roller coaster that the park had to offer. Dib bought them a lot of cotton candy as an apology for that one. 

So stuck in their internal musings, Zim missed the skewering of the marshmallow, only noticing the little white treat as the human plunged it into the fire. Zim let out a yell of shock and alarm, moving to pull the snack from the fire, but Dib held out his arm.

“Just wait, I know what I’m doing.”

  
  
“YOU ARE BURNING THE MARSHMALLOW.”

  
  
“No, Gaz burns her marshmallows, _I_ roast them. Big difference. Annnnd it’s done!” 

Zim watched in confusion while Dib broke one of the crackers in half, placing a piece of the chocolate on one, then using them to pull the now slightly browned marshmallow in between the pieces. He handed the pseudo-sandwich to Zim with a gentle smile, excitement in his face.

  
  
“Go on, try it!” 

The… s’more as Dib called it sat innocuously in Zim’s hand. Taunting the irken. It was… made of edible components, so it should be alright. Probably. The moment the combination hit their mouth though, all that trepidation vanished, and they devoured the rest of the treat. It was so sweet, and melty! Zim turned to find Dib had already made a second one, holding it out now with a wider smile.

  
  
“Thish I suffishient" Zim mumbled out, face flushed, they swallowed before continuing to speak, “your s’mores are worthy of Zim.” 

“I thought you might like them,” Dib kissed their face, licking a bit of the remnants off the Irken’s face, “I know you love the sweeter things.” 

Zim grabbed the smore, dipping a claw in the still warm mallow and tapping Dib on his nose.

  
  
“Of course, Zim loves you after all Dib-pet.” 

The human sputtered and blushed, allowing Zim to cackle with glee. Victory for Zim!

  
  
“Zim- you fucking- how dare you try and out cute me!”

  
  
“It’s not a contest, Zim is the cutest. It's a simple fact.” 

“Whatever, oh,” Dib’s attention drifted upward to the sky, eyes widening, “Oh wow, Zim look at that!”

  
  
Zim followed their mate’s gaze, and their jaw dropped. The sky back in their hometown was dull, a constant haze of greys and darker greys, at night, only a small smattering of stars could break through the pollutants. But here, oh here the sky was a dazzling array of deep blacks and purples, billions of stars twinkling brilliantly. Zim had seen the stars before, obviously they had. Six months in a ship will do that. But somehow these stars seemed different. 

Perhaps because they weren’t alone looking up into the void. 

Their hand drifted to grasp Dib’s, and the two stared up in silence. There was nothing that needed to be said. 

Zim understood, at least in some part what Dib loved about this planet.

  


**Author's Note:**

> The first of the request fics for the DTIYS, thank you to Spooky for this delightful little scene <3
> 
> Edit: Spooky made art!!! Lovely scene, so atmospheric! [Find them here!](https://withoutathought.tumblr.com/)


End file.
